Letters to the editor

Monday, November 12, 2012 - 12:01 am

Answer to late games is CDT in Indiana

Reggie Hayes, commenting on the World Series in the Oct. 24 News-Sentinel, wrote that “baseball and the World Series could be improved with a few tweaks.” Leading off his suggestions was a call for “earlier starting times. Advertising revenues are the reason broadcasting networks demand the late starting times. But I'm not smart enough to understand how it's helpful, and who's still paying attention to the Geico ads, when games end on weeknights between 11:30 and midnight.”

I understand where he is coming from. I have had to deal with employees who stumble in like zombies after major weeknight televised sporting events. I have to deal with getting up two to three hours before sunrise to make sure my children are ready for school. But, gee, Reggie, the measured population center of the country has been moving west since about the census of 1800, and today a large majority of the nation's population doesn't live in the Eastern time zone. Heck, not even all of Indiana is in the Eastern time zone.

Rather than trying to persuade Fox Sports to inconvenience a large part of its Arizona and Pacific time zone audience by starting weekday World Series games earlier, say 4 p.m. MST/PDT (I'm sure that would go over well in San Francisco), we here in Fort Wayne might observe that the Central time zone begins about 72 miles west up U.S. 30 and that we might have better luck persuading state and local leadership to ask the federal government to unify Indiana in one time zone, namely the Central. That way we, too, would enjoy convenient 7 p.m. CDT game time starts just like Michigan City, Valparaiso, Hammond and Evansville do.

Paul O'Malley

Thanks, JC Penney, for free service to cancer survivor

I want to say a big thank you to the J.C. Penney Hair Salon for giving a free haircut and styling to cancer survivors.

I went to their salon about two weeks ago. The salon was all decorated with pink balloons and pink ribbons. They were all so friendly and I loved my stylist. As she was shampooing my hair, I told her about my being diagnosed four years ago with early stage breast cancer. And then, she told me that she herself was 13 weeks into her radiation treatment after being diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.

We immediately had a common bond. Most breast cancer patients and survivors do. I was a bit emotional as it was so neat to know that we both understood each other and knew what each other was gone through or had been through. It was such an encouraging time. We couldn't stop talking.

She did a beautiful job on my hair, too. But, most importantly, I left having a new friend. Her name is Ann, and we were both diagnosed early because we had our yearly mammograms. Please do yourself a favor and do the same. Thank you again, J.C. Penney.

Karen Mansfield

Sour grapes Mourdock

Loyal Republicans who supported and voted for Richard Mourdock must have cringed when they heard the defeated candidate's “concession” speech. This was the most scurrilous, vicious, shameless bunch of sour grapes that surpasses the famous, “You won't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore.”

I had little respect for Mourdock after hearing some of his positions and beliefs, but after this harangue, I know that United States citizens have “dodged a bullet.”